Carbnivore - Carbs

What Is The Deal With Carbs These Days?

It seems in the last few years, we've all been hearing that carbs are our enemy, not our friend. But that's not entirely true. On this page we'll explore what the home page promised--a comparison of good and bad (or evil) carbs.

Good Carbs vs. Evil Ones

Just like in the movies, good prevails! Good carbohydrates are often referred to as complex carbohydrates. Both terms are correct. You just have to learn a little bit about each and see where you stack up. Good carbs are any of the following:

Fruits
Vegetables
Whole grains
Whole grain and whole wheat breads and cereals
Whole wheat pasta
Brown or long grain rice
Oats

Generally speaking, good carbs have a lot of fiber, which makes you feel full longer. That way you won't be hungry for a snack later in the day. This is because these carbs are made of hundreds or even thousands of links of sugars that are tied together to form a single molecule. Think about a rope -- the kind you use for a game of tug-of-war. It takes a lot to break a rope like that in two, and it doesn't happen quickly. Now think of complex carbs (good low carbs) as a similar rope. It takes your body forever to break those fibers down, and you feel full the whole time. That means you won't want more to eat as soon as you would if you ate simple carbs.

There you have that. Now, for those foods that cannot be considered good carbs. Or complex carbs. Whatever you want to term them, these are not it. Speaking of simple carbs (or rather evil carbs) they can be found in the following:

Sugary snacks or desserts like pie, cake, brownies, cookies, candy bars, cheesecakes, lemon bars, etc.
Sugary beverages like sodas, fruit juices, energy drinks, iced lattes, hot chocolate, chocolate milk, etc.
White breads
Regular pastas
White rice
Sugary cereals or instant oatmeal

These carbs are made of only a few links of sugars that form a single molecule. Instead of comparing this to a rope, compare it to a thread that can easily be broken with your bare hands in a matter of seconds. It doesn't take long for your body to break this type of carb down, so you're feeling hungry soon after you ate, and chances are, you'll eat more evil carbs, and the vicious cycle begins again. You can stop the madness by substituting some of the foods from the evil carbs list with foods from the good carbs list. You might be surprised at how good you'll find them to be!

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